Author: |Posted: 2:25 pm on 16/07/09
Category: Faisal Islam on Economics
There are many men in dark glasses in Washington DC during the summer. Amongst the most feared have been the International Monetary Fund economists who fly around the world reviewing the policies of individual countries – so-called Article IV Consultations.
Such a team has been in the UK over the past weeks and a few moments ago I heard them issue the single most important external report on the UK economy from their headquarters in Washington DC. In it the IMF staff project that gross government debt could reach 100 per cent of GDP by 2014/2015 or 87 per cent on the net debt measure.
Britain seems to be being advised to engage in the sort of ‘Structural Adjustment’ of borrowing policies that the IMF used to force upon bankrupt developing countries. The IMF want the UK to come up with ’specific measures’ – ie the detail of spending cuts.
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Author: |Posted: 1:20 pm on 29/06/09
Category: Faisal Islam on Economics
So the cross-party crossfire on spending and deficits continues. It is remarkable that the actual underlying figures in this spat are totally unchanged from the figures we first reported on the day of the Budget itself.
But there clearly is a problem to be solved, and the political process seems to be shedding more heat than light. So I propose the establishment of a grand committee, a commission no less, on reducing the national debt. In fact we could call it the Commission on the Reduction of the National Debt. I would appoint the Chancellor of the day, the Governor of the Bank of England. Perhaps some of his deputies. The odd politician would be good too, but a non-partisan voice preferably, say, the Speaker of the House?
Author: |Posted: 6:41 pm on 21/05/09
Category: Faisal Islam on Economics
See also: my earlier post on our exclusive interview with Debt Management Office chief Robert Stheeman.
Here’s a remarkable fact. The Debt Management Office needs to raise £220bn this year. To do that, the DMO will sell £220bn worth of gilts into the market.
Meanwhile at the Bank of England they are in the middle of buying up to £125bn of gilts from the same market. Indirectly, the Bank is effectively funding between half and two thirds of the government requirement with its magic funny money.
Now that’s not the aim of the Bank of England’s programme of quantitative easing (a kind of supercharged interest rate cut), but it is the ultimate effect. read more
Author: |Posted: 11:48 am on 22/04/09
Category: Snowblog
This is a day on which you will need to know what a trillion looks like.
We are working on a physical representation of what a trillion pounds looks like. But just for guidance, go to YouTube (see below).
